Honest Abe

This is a commercial from Geico Insurance, you might have seen it on TV. I decided to post the commercial here because I thought my readers would enjoy seeinf it. There has been quite a number of commercial this summer in which advertisers are using famous individuals from American history to sell their products. Out of the group the Geico commercial with Abraham and Mary Lincoln is the best of the bunch.

The Kraft macaroni and cheese commercials portrays Thomas Jefferson as a whiny, petulant teenager (FYI ad director: Thomas Jefferson did not wear a powdered wig). It is so ridiculous to anyone who has studied Jefferson that it is not even funny. In this commercial, Jefferson comes out as a caricature. The commercial for Bud Light is just as bad; Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and John Adams are portrayed as cartoon buffoons more interested in drinking and carousing with women over declaring their independence from England. It tries to be hip with "Living in America" playing in the back ground as Washington leers at a colonial floozy asking if she wants to be the "second lady" while he is looking down her bodice (just tacky).

Besides being hysterically funny, the Geico commercial has the hint of realism that makes a really good commercial. The classic line of "does this make my butt look big?" has been used for comedy for years as we see the uncomfortable husband squirm with the wife shooting glares at her spouse. This commercial pairs Lincoln's famous honesty paired Mary Lincoln's notorious temper and love of clothes to produce a comedy gem. The faux old film with scratchy audio quality coupled with the long pause by Lincoln add to the realism that makes this commercial funny and relatable. Also I think Americans generally considered the country's historical figures as marble saints, so by having a commercial where one of the nation's greatest president's actually looks at his wife's backside reminds us all that they were in fact real people.